The telic/paratelic state instrument (T/PSI): validating a reversal theory measure

Reversal theory posits that individuals reverse between being telic (serious-minded) and paratelic (playful). Validating a measure of this construct required a novel approach, because the states are posited to be mutually exclusive and orthogonal to both arousal levels and affect. Vignettes depicting telic and paratelic states experienced in low, moderate, and high felt arousal levels were presented to 572 respondents who answered a 30-item questionnaire as they would have answered it during situations similar to the vignettes. Twelve items were retained on the basis of how well they discriminated between telic and paratelic vignettes. The 12-item telic/paratelic state instrument (T/PSI) was shown to be unidimensional and to have excellent internal consistency reliability (Cronbach’s ALPHA=0.89). Sensitivity, specificity and predictive values of the measure based on an empirically-derived cut scores are also presented. As hypothesized, scores on the T/PSI are unrelated to gender, age, social desirability, or paratelic dominance.